The Birth of A Lantern
by shenandoahok
Summary: The Lantern Corp enlists John Stewart into its ranks.
1. Chapter 1

The Birth of A Lantern

By

Shenandoah Douglass

Chapter One

The muffins' aroma caught John Stewart's attention when he sat in Earl's Dinner, a small eatery in North Freeland. Twenty-two-years-old and fresh out of the university, he joined the Freeland Police Department a year before he graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice, and his partner—Andy Roddick—was on his way to pick him up as he enjoyed the smell of the fresh muffins baking in the oven. He looked dapper and professional in his Freeland PD uniform. His faded haircut gave him a prestigious look, and the way he carried himself garnered the respect of anybody in his presence.

Doc Baker, a tall, tenebrous man owned the bakery, and he looked right at John, and said, "I know you're new on the force, but watch your back."

John looked up at him for a moment, and asked, "What do you mean, sir?"

Doc Baker sucked his top front teeth for a moment and then said, "That partner of yours is working his own game outside the legal realm."

John paused for a moment but didn't say anything right away. "Are you saying he's a crooked cop?"

"I don't need to say it," Doc Baker said, "You just watch your back."

When Andy pulled up in the black and white, he was the opposite of John in almost every way imaginable. Where John's waist tapered into his pants, Andy's didn't. He was a big man, an older man, and a man who wasted all of his careers as an ordinary patrolman. He didn't have the desire for detective work, and his monthly stipend was more than enough money to take care of his family. He had gray hairs peppered into his black ones, puffy, pallid cheeks, and an overbite.

"You ready, John?" He asked as he stuck his head through the front door.

"Yeah," John said, "Let's do this."

When John entered the patrol car, Andy's body odor hit him directly in the face, and after two months of riding with him, he hadn't grown used to it. He thought about what Doc Baker told him, and then when he thought about how Andy interacted with Lala, one of the lieutenants in the One Hundred, he wondered if they had something going on the side.

"Listen, Lala was found dead in his jail cell last night," Andy said, "There's going to be a media firestorm because he died in police custody."

"What was the cause of death?" John asked with a grimace.

"Possible suicide," he said, "But at the same time, he was in police custody, so somebody should have checked on him. By the time the night staff found him, he was cold to the touch."

John looked over to his partner for a moment, and then asked, "How will the One Hundred react to this?"

He laughed for a moment. "The One Hundred is focused on money," he said with a smile. "As long as their product moves through Freeman, I don't think they care about Lala."

John and Andy walked into the main headquarters, into the meeting room, and sat down on the back bench and waited for the daily briefing. Within five minutes of his arrival, the room had nearly sixty officers in it, and the entire meeting was over the death of Lala. Andy leaned against the far wall, drank a cup of coffee, and scowled like he didn't want to be in the briefing. It was always a big deal when a citizen died in police custody, but since he was part of the One Hundred, a vicious street gang, it was highly probable his death would cause a ripple effect in the community.

"Everybody needs to be on guard," Captain Ives said as he explained the duties of the day. The Captain stood in front of the classroom with his small, neatly combed hairdo. A large whiteboard stood behind him, and it had patrol routes on it. Captain Ives was a black man from France via Central Africa. His skin color was like a moonless night, but he looked much younger than he truly was. He looked about twenty-five-years-old, but he was well over forty-five. He had a thin mustache, black hair, and large eyes. He talked with an accent that revealed he was a foreigner. "When word of Lala's death hits the community, people will be upset."

After the briefing, Andy and John walked over to their patrol car, and then Andy said, "Lala was a serious money source. I'm going to have to find a new one."

John looked at him for a moment, and then asked, "You're on the take?"

Andy laughed. "Just a joke, John," he said. He stopped smiling for a moment, and then said, "If you're going to last on this job, you better have a sense of humor every now and again."

The young patrolman looked at his older supervisor, and then smiled, but at the same time, he felt he was not joking. In fact, he thought his boss tested him to see where he stood on corruption, and now John didn't trust the man at all. They patrolled around Freeland for a few hours, and it was warmer than usual. Most of the kids were in school, but every now and again, he saw a child roaming up and down the city streets. Suddenly, they received a call on the radio that Freeland National Bank was under siege.

They raced to the bank on the corner of Fifth and Douglass, and three men charged out of the bank with bags of money. John rolled out the patrol car, chased one of the men down, and clipped his back leg. The robber rolled on the ground, and then as he tried his best to control the suspect, one of the other robbers kicked him in the back, and he somersaulted through the air, and then when he landed back on his feet, he drew his Glock Nineteen. His partner chased after the other robber in the patrol car, but John placed the other two in custody.

When the bank retrieved the money that John retrieved, twenty-five thousand dollars was missing. It was understood that the third robber got away with the money, and the other two crooks weren't giving up any information on the guy. For hours, the detectives interrogated the robbers, but they never gave up their partner. In fact, they didn't give up his name or anything, but because they always ran together, the officers surmised the third robber was Derrick James, a petty criminal who grew up in South Freeland.

An all points bulletin went out on Derrick James, and the police raided his apartment, but they couldn't find the guy. They cleared every room in the flat but didn't detect the guy at all. When they went into his apartment, they didn't think he returned to his home after the robbery. The flat smelled like weed, and next to the couch was some GHB and other drugs.

"I don't think he's been here," John said as he looked over the apartment quickly.

"Probably not," Andy said.

The on-scene commander looked over at Andy and John, and said, "You two can leave. Stay close to your radios."

"Yes, sir," John said.

When noontime hit, John and Andy stopped at Joe's Diner, a hamburger-place frequented by cops. John had a small cheeseburger and fries, and his partner took off in the car for about forty-five minutes. The young patrolman sat at the eatery, ate his hamburger, and didn't understand what his partner was doing. He just sat at the booth, looked out the window, and noticed two, young gang members on the far corner selling drugs. The restaurant had over fifteen cops in it, and from what John knew, all the drug dealers were aware Joe's Diner was a cop hangout.

John paid his money, walked out the diner, and looked around for his partner. He looked down at his watch, and then when he looked back up, his partner pulled directly in front of him. He climbed into the passenger's seat, and then asked, "Where did you go?"

"I have some tail a few blocks away," he said, "Just wanted to rub out a quickie."

John laughed, and then said, "Oh. Never mind."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Six Months Earlier…

In the Dark Corridor, about six hundred light years from Earth, on a planet called Moxia, an internal war ignited on all known regions of the planet. Drago Banter, the biggest city on the planet, was under attack by rebels from the Northern Region. Nearly fifty billion people resided in the city, and the traffic around the capital was next to insane. Smoke filled the evening sky, and the smell of charred bodies permeated throughout the countryside. Intermittent fires popped up all over the area, and the bombs destroyed several hundred miles of houses. Makeshift hospitals were all over the major cities because of so many casualties in the war. Billions perished. Families of injured people limped over to the nearest makeshift medical facility and received pertinent treatment. Approximately five hundred billion life forms existed on the distant planet, and the Lantern Corp didn't have much sway with the Moxian people. In fact, they didn't care too much for the Lanterns because they only involved themselves with Moxia when they wanted refined metals for making Battlecruisers. With the use of strategically placed wormholes, the Lanterns could travel to Moxia within a four-month period, and by the time they landed on the war-torn planet, nearly one hundred billion Moxians had died in the war.

Gonadia, one of the major Northern cities, once had a population of eight billion souls, but now the number of people dwindled down to two billion. So many people died in the Gonadian Battle that it caused a humanitarian problem beyond the capabilities of the living. The planet was so big that it would take over a thousand years to traverse the planet traveling at nine hundred miles per hour. Luckily, the Moxians discovered the ability to travel at the speed of light nearly a thousand years earlier, and it made the people strong, but also led to great strife because each culture had differences they couldn't overlook. In addition, the teleportation technology between cities allowed for quicker travel, but due to security reasons, the government shutdown the teleportation system.

Corbin T'Nead-a Doraxian from the planet Doraxia-stood on the Senate floor, and implored every active region to declare a ceasefire. He knew the Civil War hurled the Moxians into a quasi Dark Ages that caused xenophobia and racism to flourish. On the surface, the media turned the Northern Moxians, the Gonadians, into the monsters of the war. Every media story concerning the Northerners talked about them being savages. In fact, most of the news stories on the North referred to them as savages. In the Northern Region existed the Trailabytes, a bronze colored Moxian hostile to all the others. They started the war, and had the highest amount of casualties. Fourteen billion of them currently existed, but nearly thirty-five billion perished in a bio-weapon that attacked their nervous system.

But in reality, the Northern Moxians were the better educated, better fed, and better fighters than the rest of the regions, but didn't expect their enemy would unleash a biological weapon on them. They prided themselves on their level of Education. But at the same time, the people who controlled the media weren't true Moxians. They were Deceivers from a Planet called Pearl City, and for reasons unknown, they caused strife on every planet where they existed, including Earth.

Corbin T'Nead stood in a facility with over a million people in his Green Lantern Dress Uniform. There was a lot of angry faces in the crowd of all hues. He hadn't ever been in front of so many people in his entire life, but the Lantern Corp sent him to negotiate a truce between the states because he was one of the top-notch Lanterns outside of Sinestro. He was in front of a sea of people, nervous, but had an acute understanding that if he didn't broker a ceasefire, billions more would die. Corbin's sapphire skin was smooth, and gave him a look of prestige. He was a much older man, a man well over two hundred and fifty earth years old.

"Moxians, I stand in front of you on behalf of the Lantern Corp," Corbin said, "The Oans are dismayed with the use of biological weapons against the Trailabytes. We implore you not to go down that horrible path again. How long will brother fight brother? We have mothers against daughters and fathers against sons. Generations of your brothers and sisters are lost because of this needless war."

An older Moxian, a tenebrous man with fuzzy, gray hair stood to his feet. He flew up to the Doraxian on his hoverboard and looked the Lantern directly in his eyes. "I'm Senator Shay from the South Region. Why are you Lanterns sticking your noses in Moxian business?"

The Lantern looked at him with a serious visage. "For a stable nether region of the universe, we must have a secure and peaceful Moxia. Your Civil War is causing strife all over the universe. Nearly ten million Moxians sought refuge on Brion Noir, and taxed their governments. Four million Moxians fled to Gadaria, a planet of pacifists, and caused a great deal of chaos in that world. This Civil War has the potential to pull in other worlds, and the Lantern Corp won't tolerate that."

Later in the day…

Corbin flew over to his home near the Running Waters, a river that ran through the city, and even with all the small suns surrounding the massive planet, the outside temperature was only eighty-seven degrees. There were exactly seventy-two suns that surrounded the planet. The world had twenty hours of daylight and twenty hours of darkness, and most of the homes came with blinders that created an artificial night inside the home. There was a massive amount of lakes, rivers, and oceans all over the planet, and at least twice in a forty hour period, it rained. Doraxians craved the heat. Eighty-seven degrees was next to freezing for the old Lantern, but he learned to deal with it. In his hovel, he had the temperature set for one hundred and twenty degrees, and for most beings on Moxia, that was far too warm. He enjoyed staying by the Running Waters river because it reminded him of his beautiful home near Glassco on Doraxia. When he stood outside his hovel, Eli Ga' Narian, the Moxian Lantern, walked up to him. She was a smooth, mahogany brown with long black hair. She had on her battle dress uniform, the one that clung to her form. The uniform came with a green cape that hung over her shoulders.

"Even if my world stopped their infighting today, it would take years to recover," Eli Ga'Narian said with a grimace on her narrow face. "I'm truly embarrassed by the use of biological weapons against the Gonadians. It goes against everything that I believe." She walked over to the Running Waters, and said, "I'm not sure why Ganthet has taken such an interest in Moxian affairs. Moxia's survival is contingent on the actions of the Moxian people. "

The Doraxian Lantern looked at her for a moment, and stuck his right hand in the cool, flowing river. He loved the way his reflection appeared in the beautiful blue water. The river was sapphire like his blue skin, and then he turned to Eli, and said, "Luciferous will return in our lifetime." He paused for a moment, and she began to laugh. When she tried to speak, she bent over, let out a chuckle, and then the Doraxian said, "It's serious, Eli."

"It's folklore, old man!" She snapped. "Nonsense spread in the empath community. Their stories are older than Moxia itself."

"Not according to the Guardian, Ganthet," he said, "He fought the Vulcan on Earth a few months back. If the Vulcan returned to the flesh, then Luciferous will be born, but instead of spreading the light, he will spread destruction to worlds still practicing the old ways of cruelty, greed, and slavery. He's the being that puts the universe into alignment."

"How can he be sure the kid was truly the Vulcan though?" She asked with her arms folded. "Wasn't he the black Lantern two hundred thousand years ago?" She looked off into the billowing smoke from the fires, and asked, "So, you really believe this myth?" She asked. "Our rings give us these tales, but are they to be believed."

"The best minds on my world believe them," he said, "We have a fleet of ships for him to command upon his return."

She laughed. "I can't give credence to folklore," she said, "The rings have all these stories in them, but the ones about the Destroyer are plainly ludicrous."

"If the stories of this creature are true, he will obliterate the waste, cruel regimes, and slavery," he said, "I've read about this godlike being in T'Naga's Diaries on my world. He wiped out a race of people on my planet called the Grays because they oppressed my people, the Blues."

"Then if this creature is to be born on Earth, who's the Lantern overseeing this?" She asked with a grimace.

"We don't have one," he said with a grimace on his face. He reached into his belt, pulled out a ring, and then said, "You can go to Earth, and choose a person with a good heart, strong mind, and understanding who can oversee the birth of Luciferous." He handed her the ring. "Listen, Ganthet told me when he fought the Vulcan the Green Witch traveled back through time, and instructed him to leave Earth. She traveled back through time to set off a series of events to stop her husband from destroying Moxia itself."

She looked at him for a moment, and said, "What are you saying?"

"This is only between the elite Lanterns," he said softly. "The Destroyer destroyed this planet, Oa, and Brion Noir in one alternate future. The Green Witch returned to our time, and told Ganthet that the Destroyer rewound time, so he could restore all the planets he decimated."

"So, it's real," she said, "How do we stop him?"

"We don't," he said with a grimace. "The Destroyer is woven into the matrix of the universe. If we find an earthling with the ideals of the Lantern Corp, we might be able to persuade this god in a wise direction."

"Then I will go to Earth, and find a soul who can wield this ring for the greater good," she said.

He watched her ship take off into space, and then all of a sudden, a large explosion happened near the military base. The explosion was so big that it shook the ground. As soon as he took flight, several hundred enemy planes flew overhead, and unleashed a barrage of explosions on the city. The Senate had the strongest force shield over it. In addition to that, they had a weapon system with powerful lasers that fired automatically as the ships flew by. With the power of his Lantern ring, he was able to stave off most of the damage of the bombs. When he shot a panoramic beam out of his ring, it decimated most of the enemy planes, and the occupants floated to the ground in parachutes. By the color of their orange uniforms, he knew they were members of the Western Alliance, a legion of militant right-wingers hell-bent on eradicating the planet of the Southern Moxians. Police officers moved in all the soldier's positions, and eradicated them on the spot.

Earth Five Months Later…

Eli sat on a park bench outside of Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Freeland, and watched the citizens as they moved about their day. She ate a corn dog, and had grown fond of the unhealthy dish over her stay on Earth. She had only been on the planet for a few weeks when the ring guided her to Freeland. She looked at the men as they set up the portable bathrooms, but didn't see anybody worthy enough of the ring. She had traveled all over the planet for the person with the right heart to wield the ring, and the search had weighed heavy on her heart. But at the same time, she felt the next Lantern was in Freeland. She had been on the planet for two weeks, and hadn't found one soul who was worthy enough for the instrument of Justice. She looked across the way, and saw a tall, tenebrous man with a small, frumpy yellow looking woman. It was the oddest coupling she had seen in a long time. Quickly, she realized the man wasn't human, but a Deceiver. She had Deceivers on her planet of Moxia, and they were the empaths who told the stories of the Destroyer. They had the ability to move objects with their minds, read minds, and great fighting skills. They wiggled their way into every aspect of Moxian life, and exploited the government for their own liking. It was what the Deceivers were known for throughout the universe. Even with all their abilities, they stayed out of the war, but were often caught manipulating all sides involved. She didn't trust them.

Eli enjoyed the coolness of Freeland, but she didn't like how the people interacted with each other. In most cases, they seemed somewhat hostile, and it took her a moment to evaluate if they were being aggressive with her or not. She watched a group of kids traverse the park with baggy pants, long, wild hair, and weapons in their front pockets. For some reason, they approached the Deceiver and his woman, and from the way they carried themselves, she thought they were going to attack him. But after a brief exchange of words, the Deceiver and his woman walked away without an incident. She looked at the alien as he moseyed away, and wondered how the rest of his people viewed the fact that he was involved with a being outside his race. Deceivers only tolerated other races, but never mixed their seed with other races, and if they did fall in love with an alien, they hid it. She couldn't imagine a Deceiver impregnating a woman from an alien race. She scoffed at the thought.

She walked down the pathway of the park, and felt the young miscreants following behind her. She thought they tried to daunt her with their taunts, and if that was the case, she would do whatever it took to defend herself.

"Hey, bitch!" One of the men exclaimed. She continued down the pathway, and then one of the men ran up to her. "Slow down, foxy lady."

"Mind your business," she said with a grimace on her face. The other young men caught up to them, and one of them reached out to her, and she flipped him on his back. "I'm warning you, guys." Her voice was strong and forceful, and then the men continued to tease her despite the fact she knocked one of them on his back.

"I'm Pete Dog," one of the young men said, "Where are you from?"

She smiled. "From a world far far away," she said, "I'm from a planet called Moxia. I'm Eli of Moxia."

He looked at her for a moment, and then said, "Oh snap! You're an alien, Eli?"

"Yes," she said. "I'm on your world to find a hero."

"A hero? Well, you won't find too many in Freeland. Well, maybe Black Lightning, but he's old."

"Thank you, Mister Pete Dog," she said, "I will let the Lantern Corp know of your willingness to help me find the next hero." She flew into the air, hands out and feet pointed towards the ground, and with a smile on her face, she said, "You take care now."

"I'm in love," Pete Dog said.

Later in the day…

She heard screaming with her enhanced hearing from the outskirts of the city. With the help of the power ring, her hearing was amplified, and she could hear beyond the normal range. She flew into the air, jettisoned across the sky, and landed in a large field. There were several trees that surrounded the field, and she tried to enjoy the cool breeze, but when she looked down, she saw the short, yellow woman eating Mister Pete Dog. She tried to grab her with a graphical hand, but the short, frumpy woman had powers, and phased through the graphical hand. With a wave of her hand, she threw the Lantern into a tree. She wasn't expecting the woman to be a Deceiver, but she had powers like one.

"You have powers like a Deceiver," Eli said.

"That's right," she said. "It's what happens when you're brought back from the dead with the blood of a Deceiver." Suddenly, Eli fell to one knee as she tried to stave off the mental intrusion. It felt like a weight against her mind, and she wasn't used to fighting against telepaths. The woman's powers were much stronger than she had inspected. She used as much mental strength as possible, and hit the small woman with a graphical fist. It knocked her backward into a ditch. When she flew over to where the lady landed, she was gone.

She looked down at Pete Dog's body, and shook her head in disgust. It was ripped to shreds, and she could tell he died a painful death. When she looked at the woman as she ripped his body into pieces, she seemed to enjoy it. It was like the being didn't have a soul. In addition, she tried her best to understand how a human had powers like a Deceiver. It would take powerful science to transfer the Deceiver's powers into a non-Deceiver. She thought the woman's origins were obscure, her identity, even her very name. She was an enigma. In addition, she thought the young man was a good soul, and hated to see him die so young. She had experienced a lot of death on Moxia, and had grown tired of it. Earth was a nice retrieve away from all the violence on her homeworld.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jefferson Pierce sat in his office at Garfield High School, studied some applications for the new teacher's position, and thought about the death of Lala. Some time had passed since his death, but he still thought of it as a tragic loss. He looked back at several generations of students, and it seemed more than a few of Garfield's alumni had died tragically. He hated the thought of it. He believed the cops in the slums weren't there to merely police the community but to tax and cull the community as needed. He recalled when Mister Ryan came to the school and talked to the kids about the box of guns he found behind the apartment complex that he owned. He had film footage of the box, and then after he discussed the issue with Freeland's students, the Internal Revenue Service audited him for the next two months after the incident until three of the agents abruptly committed suicide.

Mister Pierce had three cedar bookshelves in his office, two on the right and left walls, and one directly behind him. A plant set on his windowpane and another one hung from the ceiling in the far left corner. His nameplate set on his desk in the left corner, and he had a picture of his ex-wife in the right. Above the bookshelf that set behind his desk, he had his diplomas on the wall, and he had a Ph.D. in Education. His entire office smelled like coffee percolating. It permeated throughout his office because he had a pot brewing in the background. A soft roar of high schools screaming and arguing in the background was one of the first sounds he heard every school day.

He looked at an application of Aristotle Sullivan, a young man who grew up in the slums, and received a Masters Degree in Education from National City University. The young man was twenty-six, and he graduated from Garfield High. He put his application in the probable pile that he had on his desk. Somebody knocked on his office door, and he said, "Come in!"

Inspector Henderson walked into his office with a worried look on his face. He was a medium built black man with short hair. He wore a brown, business suite with mahogany shoes. "Larry Jackson is dead, Jefferson."

"Dead?" Mister Pierce asked with a look of pain on his face. He hated the fact that he lost another student, even though Larry rarely showed up for classes. "Where was he shot?" He immediately assumed death by a bullet because most of the deaths in the slums were by a firearm.

"It wasn't a gun," he said, "He was partially eaten by a wild animal." He had a look of disgust on his face at the thought of a wild animal eating the young man.

"Pete Dog was eaten?" He asked.

"Even though I said animal, we believe the wild animal was human in nature," he said, "Chunks of flesh were ripped out of his midsection. It was a macabre picture."

Jefferson frowned for a moment. He walked over to the window of his office, looked at the students in the yard, and then said, "Sometimes I feel like we're losing this war. It seems more students succumb to the streets than lead productive lives."

"We have to stay positive," he said, "Isn't that what you've always said?"

He laughed. "You're using my words against me now?"

"With Nick Ryan's donation to the school, you should be set for the entire year," the Inspector said, "How much did he give you this year?"

"Nearly one hundred thousand," he said with a smile. "It'll allow us to attend track meets, buy supplies, and even participate in the Rock Band Competition in National City. He never wants appreciation for what he does. He just lives in our community, and doesn't want any recognition for the positive things he does for the community."

With a serious look on his face, he said, "His ex-wife killed three gang members in self-defense two days ago. They tried to rob her bistro, and she took them out like a trained warrior."

"The citizens are fighting back, but I'm sure the One Hundred will retaliate," he said, "They won't let the killings go unanswered."

"It's funny you said that, Jefferson," he said, "Pete Dog had a note in his pocket with Sue Ryan's name on it. I think he was supposed to carry out the hit on behalf of the One Hundred."

'You think she killed him?" Jefferson asked.

"I don't think so," he said, "Some kind of metahuman is responsible for this. I feel it." He paused for a moment, and then said, "In any case, most of the city's manpower will be on the Carnival this Saturday. It's going to be a lot of good music, food, and just having a good ole' fashion time."

"That reminds me. How did Lala die?" Jefferson asked. "It's been over a year now."

"Suicide," the Inspector said. "Plain ole' suicide."

Later in the day…

Principal Pierce walked down the quiet hallways of Garfield High, past the Math Department, and directly into the Musical Department. One of the students-Blade Henson-stood on the podium in the orchestra room, and said, "We have to sound good this weekend at the Carnival. We're not competing with anybody, but the big mouth and his girl will be there playing."

"Practice makes perfect, guys," Principal Pierce said, "Even against Mister Johnson and Peppermint Lee of Little Africa High. She might not participate in next year's event because she's due in March. Mister Johnson will play at the Carnival, and he said, 'Bring it.'"

"They're not humble winners," Blade Henson said with a grimace. "They talk a lot of noise. And if Peppermint beats us after giving birth, we'll definitely hear about it."

"I heard them play and they're good," Mister Pierce said, "You guys are just as good. Just keep working. Oh. When you beat them next year, be sure to be humble."

When he walked out of the band room, his ex-wife came up to him. She looked somewhat disheveled: wide eyes, sweat on the forehead, and a scowl on her visage. "John informed me his partner might be running drugs on the side." The smell of pizza and hamburgers bounced off the walls. A mural of Martin Luther King Jr. set on the far wall, and it changed the ambiance of the school. The kids walked over to the beautiful artwork whenever they had a test pending. It was the way of things in Garfield High School.

He walked with her slowly down the hallway, and asked, "What's his partner's name?"

"Andy," she said. "I told him to find more evidence before he went to his superiors about his partner."

"There's a corruption in the police department, but we can never prove anything," he said. "John has to be sure about his partner or it'll come back on him. It seems to me a lot of those cops sweep other cops' dirt under the proverbial rug."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

John felt tired, but he wanted to visit his fiancee Angie Reed before the day ended. He had talked to her earlier that morning, and she said that she was going to bed early. The stress of dealing with his partner, Andy, weighed heavy on his soul because he had made several unauthorized trips to club One Hundred. He walked into the club, and then returned with a briefcase, but John didn't say anything about it. He felt that his partner engaged in illegal activity, and his conscience wouldn't allow him to go down that sordid path. The idea of engaging in illegal drugs turned his stomach, and from what he could tell, Andy was deep into the underbelly of the slums. He didn't have any definite evidence of Andy's wrongdoing, but he had a hunch. Unfortunately, his hunch wouldn't hold up in court, but he knew something was there.

He needed to visit his girlfriend because he wanted to escape for a few hours with her. She used to work long hours in the local strip clubs, but when she acquired enough money, she attended school at the local college. Often, she complained about not making as much money doing office work as she did in the strip joints, but she wanted honorable employment when she brought children into the world. Often, they would have a romantic, late-night dinner at Solo's Bar and Grill on South Bend, on the main thoroughfare leaving Freeland. Next to the bar and grill was a club called Electric Lights and a lot of drugs flowed through the place, but at the same time, he remembered he met Angie, his fiancee, there a year earlier. On the weekends, the Electric Lights turned into a dance club, but during the week, it was a strip joint, and the money flowed freely through the club.

He walked up to Angie's house, a nice house on the corner of North Eighteenth Street. The neighborhood had quite a bit of drug activity, but it wasn't any different than any other neighborhood. The hint of marijuana permeated through the area, and it was actually stronger than usual. Several of the young men on the end of the block smoked weed on the front porch almost all day. They didn't mess with anybody, and the stuff had been legalized for a few years.

Some kids played stickball in the street, and an old man across the way barbequed some steaks. He didn't know any of the people because he grew up on the fringes of Freeland. The trees arched over into the street, and most of the homes had an enormous amount of shade. The tart aroma reverberated through the neighborhood. John looked across the street at the old man as he cooked his meal, and then the guy waved, smiled, and said, "You be careful now."

He knocked on the door, waited for a few minutes, and then said to himself, "Maybe she's not here." He should have called before he stopped by her house, but he never did in the past. He pulled out his key, unlocked the door, and walked into her house. The television was on, but she often left the television on so would be burglars would think somebody was home when it wasn't. The two-story house had the stairwell to the upstairs to his right, and he walked directly to the living room, sat on the couch, and placed his legs on the coffee table. He leaned back on the couch for a moment, and then when his back popped, he saw some male shoes on the floor that weren't his. He quickly picked them up, and then set them back down on the floor. He quietly walked up the stairs, over to his girlfriend's bedroom, and cracked open the door. He saw a man on top of her, and they were engaged in coitus. He heard her say, "I love you so much." For a moment, his mind leaped out of his body in a figurative way, and then the reality of the situation overwhelmed his senses. Dismayed, he walked back down the stairs, out the front door, and stumbled down the street. He could barely breathe because of what he had seen. He put a ring on her finger months earlier and made plans for the wedding. It bothered him so bad that he threw up in the middle of the street, and the kids screamed, "That's nasty!". Everything made sense now. She had been distant since he graduated from college, but he let it slide. He thought it had to do with the amount of time he spent with her, and she would eventually grow used to it. But now that he thought back to her actions, he realized she had been seeing another man the whole time. He cried out for a moment but suppressed his emotions like a good cop.

Next day…

It was around two o'clock in the afternoon when Andy stopped in front of the One Hundred Club. John sat in the passenger seat of the police cruiser with pain in his heart, and he tried to flush it out with positive thoughts. He was running strictly on coffee fuel and needed something to eat. All he could think about was his fiancee in bed with another man. It played repeatedly in his mind, and he wasn't able to focus on the job at hand. It took a minute before he realized his partner parked directly in front of the One Hundred Club. Some of the miscreants stood outside the building, listening to music, and bumping fists.

The young rookie climbed outside of the cruiser, stretched, and watched his partner meander up to the building. Andy was an oversized cop, old, and unbalanced, but he had a few notable kills under his belt. They were all justifiable shoots, but avoidable with a bit of caution. John studied his record, and even though he thought Andy's kill was illegitimate, it wasn't his call. The car was parked on the blacktop of the parking lot. John stood on the outside of the car, weapon bumped up against the cruiser and watched the gang members closely while his partner walked into the facility. The gangster pointed at him like they wanted to shoot him, but he didn't pay them any attention. He watched them closely as they stared at him. He didn't have any idea on why Andy pulled into the club or the business he had in the club, but it wasn't the first time over the last few months Andy took him to a sordid, One Hundred establishment. It all looked suspicious. He patted his chest to feel his bulletproof vest in case something went down unexpectedly. It was obvious Andy was part of a corruption, a corruption that plagued Freeland Police Department, and if the police department wanted to win the trust of the people, corrupt cops needed to be exposed. John believed that in his heart.

His partner rolled out of the club with a small package underneath his right arm. He sauntered down the path, smiling insidiously, and then looked over at John like nothing was wrong, hopped into the driver's seat, and said, "Let's go!" John hopped into the passenger seat, looked over at his partner, and then they took off.

"What's going on?" The young rookie asked. He felt a lot of pressure on his chest over the possibility of something illegal happening, but at the same time, he hurt because Angie was involved with another man. Due to her previous lifestyle and all the warnings from Jefferson, Lynn, and others, he thought he'd just keep it all a secret. In his mind, he had already distanced himself from her, at least on a mental level.

"Don't put your nose in my business, rookie," Andy snapped. "You'll eventually understand the One Hundred is running Freeland 'Suicide Slums'." He paused for a moment, and then said, "Half the cops on the force look the other way with these guys."

Later on in the afternoon…

The end of his shift came to a quick close around five o'clock in the afternoon, but Andy cruised around South Bend when they should have been pulling in the precinct. Everything felt odd to John. In the distant, he could see approximately six, uncouth gangsters in the middle of the street with what appeared to be automatic weapons. Andy's ominous laugh clued him into something malicious, something insidious about to happen, and that put him on guard.

"What are you doing?" John asked.

Suddenly, Andy tried to grab John by the face, but the young rookie bit his right hand. He bit down with as much pressure as his jaws would allow, and tore off a chunk of flesh. He spat it on the dashboard, and Andy screamed at the top of his lungs. John opened the car door and rolled out into the middle of the street. He tumbled several times before he came to a stop, and then he ran into the treeline. The way his knees bumped the pavement caused him excruciating pain. He saw the other men hop in their cars and head in his direction, but the bush was thick and allowed him to conceal himself. He limped into the thick foliage, grabbing his knees, and hoping he didn't crack anything. He knew his partner was dirty from the beginning, but he didn't know he was a cop killer. He reached into his pocket for his cell phone, but the fall damaged it beyond repair. He looked at the screen of the smartphone, and it sparked a few times, and then went black. He was approximately two miles from any housing, so he would have to fight his way back or perish by the hands of his evil partner.

When one of the cars parked at the edge of the high weeds, John ducked down, pulled out his weapon, and had it by his side. Listening, he waited until he could hear the gangsters trudging through the high weeds. He cocked his weapon, and then when he saw the man approximately twenty-five meters in front of him, he shot him in the head. The back of the gangster's head exploded, and John took off through the woods. He arrived at an area where some marshes laid, and the water came up to his waist. He saw a few black snakes squirming through the water, and it caused him caution. On a hill to the north of the quagmire was an old, fifty-seven Ford pickup. It was nothing but some old, discarded wreckage. And when he ran past it, he heard his partner's voice.

"Sorry, John," Andy said. The young, college-educated officer turned toward his partner but didn't raise his weapon.

"You won't get away with this," John said. Standing in front of Andy, he waited for him to fire his weapon. When Andy shot him, the bullet hit him center mass, and it caused him to fly back onto the mushy surface. The pain raced through the young man's body, and then he felt something around his right, index finger. Suddenly, his mind filled with the knowledge of the universe that he didn't have prior, and when his partner stood over him to administer the fatal shot, a laser came out of his ring that cut his partner in half vertically. "What is happening?" John asked.

Eli flew down in her Green Lantern Battle Dress Uniform, and stood in front of John Stewart, and said, "You're the new Lantern of Sector Twenty Eight Fourteen."

"Why me?" He asked with a befuddled look on his face. He knew faintly of the Lantern Corp because of the shenanigans of Hal Jordan. The female Lantern was about sixty-nine inches tall, and she wore her hair in a ponytail. She didn't have a blemish on her face at all.

"The Guardians need a man of honor to oversee the coming of the Destroyer," she said with a grimace. "We don't know the exact time of his arrival, but we think it will happen within twenty years." She walked over to John, and then said, "Don your uniform, young Lantern."

"But how?" He asked as he looked at his new ring.

"Just think of it," she said. "The ring is aligned with your body matrix."

He stood in front of her, thought about the uniform, and donned the Battle Dress, green uniform. "How's that?"

She laughed. "You'll be quitting your earthly job," she said, "You'll travel to Oa with me in a few months, and start your training. Basic training will be grueling, but it's needed so you don't make life-altering mistakes."

Several men ran through the woods and fired their weapons at the Lanterns, but their rings protected them. Almost in an instant, Eli's ring emitted a ray that sliced all the gangsters in half. "We've had Lanterns on Earth," she said, "You'd think they'd know not to mess with us."

"I've heard of one," John said, "His name was Hal Jordan."

"Yes," she said, "I knew him well."

"What is your name?" John asked.

"Eli Ga'Narian is my name," she said, "I am the Green Lantern of Moxia, a planet with over five hundred billion souls on it."

"Wow," John said. "Why would Oa be concerned with the birth of a human child?"

She smiled. "The child will be far from human, Mister Stewart," she said, "In time, we'll teach you everything you'll need to know about your mission." She placed her right hand on his left shoulder, and then said, "You'll need to give notice to your job that you're quitting."

He looked over at his dead partner, and said, "How do I explain this?"

"With the truth," she said. "But I assume there are other wrongdoers in your ranks."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

(The Attack on Gorgon)

Darkness overtook the entire planet of Gorgonia, a world that set on the fringes of the galaxy Cthonica. It was a grim day, a day when alien u-shaped spaceships blotted out the suns and killed the people of the beautiful planet without prejudice. King Carious, the leader of the Lords of Decay, attacked Gorgonia during a negotiation over several mining planets, and the Lords of Decay tricked them. When the King left the city of New Olympus, he dropped a barrage of bombs on the city and killed thousands.

The planet had two suns that set on different sides of the tinted orange sky, but the inhabitants couldn't see them from the ground because of all the ships that flew overhead. Hundreds of civilians ran for the mountains, but the bombs overwhelmed them. A large bird with a wingspan that stretched over two hundred feet flew underneath the battalion of ships, and one of the alien vessels broke ranks in order to shoot it out of the sky. It chased the winged predator into the crevices of the Medusa Mountains, and the creature shot a stream of fire from its eyes—tearing through the ship like it was made of paper. Several of the Gorgons of the elite class flew into the air and tried to overwhelm the invaders, but they had little effect on the attacking ships.

The alien weapons were all powerful and eviscerated everything in their paths.

After the ships decimated New Olympus, several thousand Gorgons took flight in their space crafts. Some of them had weapons, but their firepower was only the first generation positronic weapons that couldn't penetrate the Lords of Decay's ships. It was mostly a one-sided fight, but the Gorgons fought hard.

When a group of people walked through the city of New Hope, one of the ships incinerated all of them within seconds. Due to the bombardment of New Olympus, they didn't have time to warn New Hope. It didn't give them an opportunity to run and hide before it opened fire on the poor creatures. It was a culling, a wiping out of a species of people without provocation. The aliens wanted the planet for their selfish needs and desired to have all the inhabitants eradicated.

The people of New Olympus called themselves the Gorgons, a race of thick, dark-skinned people with the ability to turn other species of humanoids into solid stone, hypnotize them, and steal their life-force; but since Princess Sar-Dar took over the country, they decided to work with other species to harmonize the galaxy. She was with child when the alien's cannons tore through her kingdom, and she watched the first wave of attackers level three of her cities: New Hope, New Olympus, and Athonica.

She called on several fleets of ships to take flight against the alien invaders, but it was far too late for the city of New Hope. The Lord's military advantage didn't give the Gorgon's time to get their birds off the ground, and many of them were decimated in the initial wave. When her warships took flight, the aliens hit them with a barrage of firepower that crippled half of the fleet before launch. The Princess watched in horror as the aliens devastated her fleet; she quickly ran over to a computer terminal and told her personal warriors to suit up.

"Send word to the Lantern Corp that we're in trouble," she said with a grimace. Holding on to her stomach, she said, "If the Lanterns don't help us, Gorgonia is done for."

They immediately took flight on gigantic birds called Simurghs, and they were powerful enough to tear through the hulls of the ships. She sent out an alert beacon warning the Simurghs throughout New Olympus that alien invaders had the planet under siege. It was a beacon that warned them to take refuge in the nether regions of the planet until the royal family could form a new alliance, and take on the invaders.

The Princess went into a solid white portal and pressed several buttons on a panel. She knelt down on one knee, and then it transported her to the other side of the planet. When she appeared, she held onto her pregnant stomach as if the baby was giving her some pains. Slowly, she walked off the platform in her retreat castle and pulled off her white hood. The snakes that grew out of her head were in a frenzy. Several servants came to her aid and rushed her into her royal chambers where she gave birth to a baby girl. As soon as she gave birth, her husband rushed into her chambers, and said, "The Lords of Decay are upon us at this very moment. We must abscond in the Royal Cruiser."

"I thought we had a truce with the Lords," the Princess said, "Why are they attacking us now?"

"They want our wealth," he said with a grimace. "We have thousands of Gorgons taking to the stars. One day we'll regroup, and take our world back."

Over Gotham...

By using several hidden wormholes, the Royal Cruiser made it to Earth within a year. As soon as the ship hit Earth's atmosphere, Superman guided them to the ground for safety. Bruce Wayne immediately commandeered the ship, hid it, and then hid the royal family.

Decay..

King Carious sat on his throne for a moment. He drank some wine and listened to some soft music in the background.

The Lord's Battle Fighter flew through the air around eleven o'clock in the evening. He followed the Gorgonia Royal Family to Earth in the hopes he'd arrest them, and return them to Gorgonia. If he brought them home in shackles, it would finally break the Gorgonia spirit and bring the Simurghs under the control of the Lords. The birds possessed intelligence far beyond that of any other animal on the planet of Gorgonia, and they followed the commands of the Royal Family. When the Lords tried to haul equipment to and from the surface of the planet, the Simurghs often ran raids on them. They were notorious for taking out Battle Fighters almost effortlessly.

He did a scan of the planet, and when he didn't detect the Royal Family, he thought about leaving, but he didn't. Quickly, he realized that the primitive planet had tech that could trick his sensors. Slowly, he scanned the world for the second time, and the different races appeared on the screen.

"What are Kryptonians doing on this planet?" He asked softly. "I can easily rot seventeen Kryptonians." He paused for a moment, and then said, "I can rot two Lanterns too." He laughed, and then when he detected another kind of being, his instruments didn't identify it, but his readout said impervious to the Decay touch. "What kind of being is this?" He asked his ship's computer.

"The gods," it said.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

After Eli gave the Lantern ring to John, Inspector Henderson made an attempt to imprison him in the county jail, but it didn't happen for too long because the department had video evidence of Andy's criminal shenanigans. He hated the fact that none of his so-called friends helped him out on the job. He thought every cop in Freeland was corrupt because somebody altered his body cam footage.

He knew the department turned on him when he walked up to the North Side Precinct and Inspector Henderson looked at him side-eyed and scrunch-faced. He quickly tried to say something to the inspector about the awful situation, but he didn't want to hear what he had to say. Turning to John, he merely said, "Turn in your weapon."

"I'm telling you, Inspector Henderson, that somebody changed the video footage," John said. He looked at the back of the inspector's head, and asked, "When can I talk to a representative?"

"You killed a cop, John," he said as he paused at the end of the sidewalk. He didn't look back at the young patrolman once. The newly minted Green Lantern felt dismayed over the inspector's attitude about the situation. "You're going to pay for that. Now, turn in your weapon to the unit armorer."

About ten minutes later in the Arms Room...

John looked at the inspector in his beady eyes for a moment. The inspector had a pair of cuffs in his hands, and he ordered John to place his palms on the wall. He didn't know what to think about the situation, but two other cops stood in the background gripping their weapons. He felt the energy of the Lantern ring flowing through his body, and he had to fight the will to attack them. Besides, he didn't know how to actually wield the ring in a professional manner. When he placed his hands on the wall, he looked over at his Lantern ring, and it disappeared into his flesh.

"Place your hands flat on the wall, John," Inspector Henderson ordered.

"Yes, sir," he replied.

When he pressed his hands on the wall, the inspector kicked his legs so hard that it caused him to react aggressively.

"If this son-of-a-bitch acts aggressively towards me again, shoot him," Inspector Henderson screamed.

John became enraged for a moment, and he suddenly felt the ring calming him down. It was almost like a calming agent flowed through his thick, Freeland blood, but it was the ring. He knew it was the ring. Henderson placed the shackles around John's wrists, and they collapsed down on the bones like a ratchet, and it caused him a great deal of pain. The inspector abused John in the way he went about shackling his hands behind his back. The rookie cop felt a great deal of shame as the cuffs collapsed around the tiny part of his strong arms. He tried his best to stay calm, but he could feel a rage rising in his heart, a hate. But at the same time, he knew Freeland Police Department worked in corruption on a daily basis. He knew he wouldn't truly have the backing of the department because there were signs of corruption in the Freeland Police Department, and the bad cops took immediate action to make him look like a perpetrator.

The first thing he did when he entered the station was clear his gun in the clearing barrel. He then checked in his pistol with the armorer when Inspector Henderson burst into the arms room with two other cops and placed the young officer in cuffs. The inspector tightened the cold steel around John's wrists, and he felt defeated for only a moment before the ring instilled confidence into his soul.

John sat in a cold, unforgiving jail cell with several other inmates, and he still had the Lantern ring on his right, middle finger. It was invisible, and when the deputies searched him, they didn't see the ring on his right, middle finger. He sat against the wall of the jail cell for approximately twelve hours before the Inspector released him under the orders of Eli Ga'Narian. Somebody manipulated the police data recorder, but Eli's Green Lantern Ring caught the entire incident on a universal recording device, and it liberated John from his imprisonment.

"I'm not sure why a Lantern would want to free you, John Stewart," the inspector said, "But you'll slip up. Criminals always do."

John looked at him for a moment and then said, "You run a corrupt organization, Inspector Henderson. You should be ashamed."

"Don't worry, John," he said, "You'll mess up. I promise you that."

"Let's go, Stewart," Eli said with a grimace on her face. She looked directly at the Inspector and then said, "You may think you're safe behind this wall of corruption, but justice will break it down some day. You'll always be looking over your back, Inspector."

About thirty minutes later...

John and Eli walked down the main thoroughfare, and it was an unusually warm Thursday morning. The sun had a certain shine to it that he liked, but the bits of trash tumbling down the road took away from the ambiance. He wanted to put Freeland in a positive light. He watched the fanciest, black sports car rolling down the street, and it parked at the most expensive hotel in Freeland. He wanted to ask the driver what kind of car he drove, but when the man exited the vehicle, he was dressed like a vampire. From the looks of it, the sports car driver stood approximately six-foot-three-inches, and he had two girls with him: one dressed in white and the other one dressed in black. The one dressed in white appeared to be pregnant. He was probably the first gothic, black kid he had ever seen in his entire life.

When Eli walked, she kept her hands behind her back. She looked calmly wearing her black shades, long dark hair, and narrow face. On the surface, she looked no different than any other good looking black woman on the street, but she had chiseled abs.

"My ship is parked on the fringes of Freeland," she said as they strolled down the street. "The entire area is contaminated with some kind of chemical. It's hostile to life."

"The Downing Chemical Plant infected the entire area," he said, "There's a lawsuit against them right now."

She sighed, and then said, "If humans don't care about the life in this world, then you'll lose it for sure." For a moment, she looked back at the jailhouse at the end of the block and then said, "John, I was reading a newspaper article about birth rates around the world," she said in a soft voice.

"Yes. What about the birth rate?" He asked.

"There have been more deaths than births with certain segments of the world's population," she said. "People are dying at an increased rate. The flu, drugs, heart disease, and so on are having better luck at killing people today than yesterday."

"It ebbs and flows," he said with a half smile.

"A year ago a battle happened in Gotham between the Guardian, Ganthet, of Oa and Vulcan. I don't know the exact reason why they fought, but I do know a traveler from the future returned to this time."

"What does that have to do with birth rates?" He asked. "I saw the fight online, but I didn't know if it was real."

"According to our rings' logs, Ganthet ran into a being referred to as the Green Witch," she said, "In history, we have thousands of beings referred to as the Green Witch, and they've all been associated with some form of Luciferous."

"But what does that all mean?" He asked.

"He has thousands of names throughout time, but he's usually called the Great Destroyer," she said, "His primary purpose is to put the universe back in alignment with the Great Mother's wishes. Unfortunately, when he finds that certain species have strayed so far off course in their ideas, thinking, and understanding, he eradicates that species for the better good."

"But what does that have to do with birth rates?" He asked.

"The Great Mother traveled back in time and warned Ganthet to leave Earth because he was interfering with the growth of the Vulcan. It would appear her reasoning for traveling back in time was to unleash a deadly virus on this world. When I landed on this world, I took air samples. I believe the Great Mother released the phage on this world, John." She paused for a moment, and then said, "Even if the best scientists on Earth worked night and day on a cure, they wouldn't be able to find one."

"But what does this all mean?" He asked. "Why Earth?"

"Your cruelty knows no bounds. This particular disease goes undetected until it's too late," she said, "Within one hundred years, the population will be a quarter of what it is today. By four hundred years, it could be the extinction of the human race."

"What can we do to stop this?" He asked with a grimace.

"Four months ago, I didn't believe Luciferous ever existed. Ever. But after studying the historical data, I realize I was a fool. This being is part of the matrix of the universe. He returns every two thousand years to put the galaxy on the correct course. I fear he sent his wife back to unleash a disease on Earth because he has already judged your planet. He's already made his decision."

He stopped walking for a moment, and then said, "I don't understand what's so bad about Earth."

"Then you're not looking hard enough," she said. "The corruption on this planet is unlike anything else in the universe. You just don't see it because you're living under this oppression. The Guardians of Oa oppose Luciferous, but they don't view him as evil. He'll do the job he's designed to do."

"What's that?" John asked.

"Cull the universe of beings that choose to hold the rest of the universe back," she said. When she stood in front of him, a black and white cop car rolled past them slowly and methodically. The passenger in the cop car was Terry Jenkins, and he made the finger gun sign at John. "The Oans believe every species has the right to make as many mistakes as needed until they get it right. Luciferous believes only so many chances can be given, and then annihilation."

John didn't really hear what she said because of Terry's actions. He watched the black and white fade into the distance and realized at some point the Freeland Police Department would come after him.

"I see your mind is preoccupied," Eli said, "Your cop buddies want you dead."

"It's true," he said, "The corruption is everywhere in Freeland."

Later in the day…

Eli turned on the television and John sat back on the couch. She pulled off her shoes, sat on the floor, and said, "It's a big universe, John. The ring holds a lot of responsibility. You may be the hope humanity needs to find its path to freedom." She looked down at the ground, and then said, "Or its death."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Eli eventually went back to her ship while John traveled to Jefferson's house. It was Thursday afternoon, and everybody was discussing the Carnival on Saturday. It was a good idea for Eli to tell him about the Destroyer because it gave him time to read up on the birth rates. At first, he didn't quite understand why he needed four years of Lantern training when Hal Jordan only had a few days. But now that humanity was on the line, he understood why he had to be a diplomat within the Green Lantern Corp.

John sat in Jefferson Pierce's living room to discuss the events that occurred with his now deceased partner. He felt a little dismayed by how Inspector Henderson treated him in the matter. In addition, he didn't have a true understanding of why the Lantern Corp chose him over all the other humans on the planet. He didn't feel like he was anything special.

Jefferson poured John some whiskey, and then said, "It's a great honor to be chosen for the corp. How many Lanterns are there from Earth?"

"I'm not sure," he said calmly. "Now that I'm learning another universe existed before this one, I believe the Lantern Corp might be over a million years old. At one point, Earth was a major player in the universe."

The old man laughed for a moment. "How old is the Green Lantern Corp?"

"Like I mentioned before, we're the newest iteration of the corp, but my ring has a history that goes back a million years. I'm not sure how I feel about some of the history. The whole idea of good guys and bad guys loses its meaning when looking at the history."

"What do you mean?" Jefferson asked with a grimace.

"There was a war over the Kryptonians. The Guardians of Oa hated them, tried to destroy them over a million years ago, and it eventually resulted in the destruction of their world. Apparently, the reason the Kryptonians didn't escape their world was that large robots called Manbots kept them from leaving."

"You're saying the Guardians are responsible for the destruction of Superman's homeworld?" He asked.

"It's in the ring's history," he said, "I guess I could be interpreting it wrong. I don't know."

John's sister Lynn decorated the home with a certain style that gave it a noticeable, positive feel, a serenity that he loved. Every item in the house had its place. The couch was congruent with the love seat and the love seat was congruent with the coffee table. John's apartment was the exact opposite of Jefferson's home. Nothing match. It was one large, uncomfortable room of incongruity.

They were the only people in the house, and he needed some advice about his next move. The scent of cedarwood flowed through the air. He had a vapor unit on the coffee table that masked any odorous smell. "In a few months, I'll be heading to Oa," John said with a smile. "I can't imagine going to another planet, but it's going to happen."

Jefferson stood up and walked over to his wine cabinet. He pulled out a bottle, two crystal glasses, and shared another drink with his brother-n-law. "Something must be happening within the human race, John," Jefferson said calmly, "We've gotten a slew of humans with powers beyond the norm. It happened with the advent of Superman, and now we have aliens coming out of the woodwork. I think Earth needs a new Lantern since Hal Jordan disappeared because we have aliens of royal blood seeking refuge from hostile takeovers of their planets."

"What's with these other metahumans?" John asked. "How about Black Lightning? Where is he from?"

"I don't know. Possibly the cosmos," he said. "But now we have this young Vulcan calling for a new Justice Corp to keep an eye on the sky. This Vulcan guy wears a complete mask over his face, and everything about him is completely hidden. He's saying humanity must change her ways or the gods will wipe us off the map."

"He sounds like a loon. I heard part of his address to the United Nations, and the leader of South Korea tried to order him to take off his mask. It resulted in a complete shutdown of the event, but Vulcan said, 'I'm here to save humanity from itself.' He then walked out of the room," John said, "But what if he knows something the rest of us don't?"

"It's highly possible," Jefferson said, "I saw the newspaper article that more people are dying than being born these days."

John looked at his brother-n-law for a second, and now that he had time to truly think about what Eli told him, he felt nervous and scared-and apprehensive. "Eli told me she analyzed the atmosphere and a disease was in the atmosphere that's killing humanity."

"Was she serious?" Jefferson asked.

"Yes," he said, "Moxians don't appear to have much of a sense of humor. But I sensed she had great consternation about what she found out about humanity. She said some kind of being from the future judged humanity and sent a representative back through time to kill off mankind for its misdeeds."

"I don't know if there's any validity to that," Jefferson said, "We're trying to do better, but we've had setbacks."

John laughed. "Are we trying to do better? American children are killing each other. Corporations are poisoning our air and water. Children are walking around with lead poisoning. I fear we're savages compared to the rest of the universe."

"We've hit a lull in our thinking, but given time we'll pull through. We always do," he said, "What are we doing so bad that a being wants to destroy us?"

"Not embracing our humanity," John said, "Not seeing that we're all human beings is the greatest sin in the universe.

Later in the evening…

When John left out of Jefferson's house, he watched a tall, dark-skinned couple with a baby looking at the sky. The man smoked a nice pipe with a strong, cinnamon aroma, but his style of clothing wasn't with modern times. Something about them wasn't exactly right. It was like they saw an old movie from the fifties, and decided to emulate it. They had an extremely nice house, a manicured lawn, and a fancy, nineteen-fifty-seven Chevy car parked in the driveway. The dome light in the automobile flashed red, and the Lantern thought that was odd. The man looked across at John, waved, smiled, and then walked over to his luxury, old-fashioned car. Everything seemed off, manufactured, and a sham, but at the same time, John was in his feelings about the sickness that plagued humankind.

"That's strange," he said to himself. "It's not every day that I see people so free from social constraints that they wear clothing sixty-something years out of date." He had only worked on the Freeland police department for a little under a year and didn't know everybody in Freeland. He grew up in the town but didn't have a clue about the strange couple, with the strange car, and the cute baby. When he walked over to his car, he saw the black sports car rolling down the street, and it stopped in front of the fancy house. He didn't notice how much muscle the car had on it. He could feel the power from the engine as it rolled up beside his vehicle. Immediately, the couple went into a defensive position when the strange man stepped out of the car with face paint and dressed in all black. He was dressed in gothic attire.

"JJ, is that you?" John screamed from across the street.

Immediately, the kid turned to see John, and said, "I remember you. How are you doing?"

"Pretty good," he said, "It's nice seeing you."

"You too," JJ said.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

JJ watched John drive away, and then when he turned to the couple, he saw the fear in their faces. He waved his right hand over his face, and his devilish paint disappeared. He looked like an average teenager with a normal, clean-cut haircut. He then waved his right hand over his face again and turned back into his gothic rock self. The man that stood in front of him was nearly seven foot, and he had to look up to the guy.

"I've been briefed on your situation, Prince, and Princess Dar," he said with a calm demeanor. "Actually, I found out about your world from your ship. I was able to interface with your ship's database, read about your world, and surmise the Decays would send scouts to look for you." He walked up to them with his hands behind his back, and then said, "The way the Lords overtook your world was cruel and against the Federation of Planets." The Prince looked at the young kid face-front and with a grimace.

"What are you?" Prince Dar asked. His eyes turned a bright orange, and then JJ began laughing. As the Gorgon Prince tried his best to control JJ's mind, the young earthling continued to laugh, and it frustrated the Gorgon. He then tried to gorgonize him, but it didn't do any good.

"You really thought you could control me?" He said laughingly. "Don't be silly, You won't be able to gorgonize me, control me, or use your powers on me. Sorry about that." The Princess pulled out a laser gun, and it flew right to JJ's right hand. He then brought her over to him, broke her down to her knees, and looked her right in her yellow eyes. He shared his thoughts on the old world where thousands of Gorgons were slaughtered by a race called the Peridians. They used special weapons that killed thousands of them and left their bodies in a gigantic pile. The Great Mother freed them of the Peridian's rule nearly eight hundred thousand years ago. The Princess leaped back onto the ground with the baby, but the young god picked the baby up with his telekinetic powers and protected her.

"You're beautiful, Christina. You will return to Gorgonia and take back your kingdom. I promise you that." He looked over at his vehicle, and Orion flew out of it. JJ handed the baby back to the Princess, and said, "I'm not your enemy."

"What's happening?" The Prince asked. "How do you know her name?"

"It's not important, Prince Dar. Just know that I'm a friend to the Gorgons," he said. "Orion, please put a protective shield around us." A wide, sapphire ray engulfed the immediate area, and then JJ said, "I was in my room a few hours ago, and Orion told me that one of our satellites spotted an alien vessel on the far side of the moon."

"Why should we be concerned?" Princess Dar asked.

"Remember, I read all the logs in your ship's computer a few months back," he said, "I saw the war on Gorgonia, the Simurghs abscond to the Medusa Mountains, and a large portion of the Royal Family fled the planet." He looked up into the sky for a moment, and then said, "The ship on the far side of the moon looks like a single man Decay Cruiser."

The couple became frantic, and asked, "Are you sure?"

"It conforms to what's written in your ship's computer," he said calmly. "Orion, can you put up the image you caught from the NSA satellite."

"Here you go," Orion said, "It's definitely a ship from the Royal Fleet of Decay."

"It's true," Princess Dar said, "It has the Carious stamp on it."

"If they detect you, they'll bring a fleet of ships," JJ said, "Earth doesn't have the technology to stave off Decay tech." He pulled out some equipment from his trench coat pocket and held three black devices in the palm of his right hand. Now, Orion built these modulators that should block the Lord's ability to detect you." He clipped the devices on their clothes. "Wear these and the Decay ship won't be able to detect you. These devices block against all telepathic intrusions including me. This means I can't detect or warn you of anything as long as you wear them. Now, if you run into problems that you can't handle, break the modulators, and I will be able to communicate with you. Well, you can text me. Due to the sensitivity of this situation, I must ask you to never reveal that we've talked."

"Why is that?" He asked.

"Up until two years ago, I was just a mere mortal. My girlfriend and I were imbued with the godspark of the ancient gods. I'm the first son of the Great Mother. This is the reason why you can't gorgonize me and the Decays can't rot me. When I look at you, I see you in your original, emerald form. I see the Decays and the Gorgons as the same family, and it's my familial duty to bring peace to both races."

"I'd like to think Chthonica could be a peaceful region of space, but the war between the Lords and Gorgons is nearly a million years old," Prince Dar said, "I'm not sure some god with the skin of a kid can bring peace to the Dark Regions."

"We all have our battles to fight. We all have our personal issues, but I fear your fate in the hands of the Oans won't turn out well. They may be older than my meat suit, but they aren't older than my godspark," he said, "I will do right by you because doing right by you is doing right by the Great Mother. Your computer logged the transmission between you and the Lantern Corp. They're looking at your war as an internal, family dispute, and won't involve themselves." JJ paused for a moment. "Orion and I can fix your ship. This way you can locate the other members of your tribe when the time comes."

Later in the evening...

JJ worried about the ship next to the moon: he feared the Lord would detect the Gorgons, and bring a fleet of ships to the planet. He sat in his hotel room with his fiancee and Vera, and they lay on the bed sleeping. It was late. He knew J'onn was on a respite, and he didn't want to interfere with his time off. Kara had told him several times that when the leader of the DEO took some leave time, then let him have his free time. At the same time, Kara knew JJ had the head of a brick and would interfere with J'onn's vacation if he detected any anomalies. JJ lived by the philosophy of using the resources at hand, and J'onn had access to some of the best equipment outside of the Deceivers on the planet.

"JJ, the Decay ship is headed this way at about fifty thousand miles per hour," Orion said, "It's headed right for the United States."

"What's the probability they already know the location of the Dars?" He asked.

"Remote," she said. "It's best to leave them in place."

JJ began to concentrate on J'onn, but couldn't detect his mind for some reason. He looked over at his palm computer and then asked, "I can't detect J'onn, Kara, or James. That's odd."

Orion continued to hover next to the window of the room, and the young man stared at his best friend. "What did you do?"

"I gave him a modulator," she said, "Sorry! He said he wanted some peace and quiet." The modulator placed a protective shield nearly one hundred yards around the wearer that blocked out all telepathic intrusions, but JJ was old school: he thought the device weakened his ability to block out telepathic incursions naturally.

"I have to meet with him," he said.

"Oh my god," Peppermint said, "It's eleven o'clock at night. You two, shut up." She barely opened her eyes but pointed over at JJ as he sat against the wall.

"Let's go," Orion said. They walked out the room, down the hallway, and eventually into the parking lot. "Are you really taking the ship?" She asked.

"It's the coolest ship in the world," he said.

Grand Canyon…

JJ and Orion descended into one of the crevices of the canyon with his ship and came to a light at the very bottom. When he landed the ship, opened the door, and slid out, J'onn sat by an open flame by himself. He looked down at the ground, and saw all the different footprints, and knew the entire team was in the area. "Oh my god! I smell you Kara, James, Winn, and Alex. You're not fooling me."

"Orion, you set us up?" Kara asked as she came out of the shadows.

"No," she replied, "We wouldn't be here unless it's important."

"Orion, enclose us in a protective shield," JJ said. He looked at J'onn, and then asked, "Permission to label this top-secret?"

"Okay, Mister Johnson," he said with his hands on his hips. "Permission granted."

He stood in front of his comrades and began to explain about the alien vessel headed for Earth. "About a year ago GK and Superman came across an alien vessel that had crash landed on the fringes of Gotham. Inside of it was the Royal Family of a planet called Gorgonia. They escaped the hostile takeover of their world by another alien race called the Lords from the planet Decay. I've been calling them the Lords of Decay for short. GK and Superman hid the Royal Family, but the Lords have sent a single man vessel to Earth to find them."

"What kind of tech do they have?" James Olsen asked.

"They have a positronic cannon that can obliterate anything within our weaponry. In addition, they have weapons that can fire kryptonite lasers," Orion said.

"Is this our fight?" Winn asked with a grimace. "Why should we risk our lives for them?"

"Because it's what we do,," JJ said, "If the alien vessel enters our world in a hostile manner, then we have to take action and protect the Royal Family."

"Please understand that if we engage a Decay soldier that we do so only with an insulated uniform that exposes no skin," Orion said. "The Decays and Gorgons were once the same race, but about eight hundred thousand years ago, became two separate races. If a Lord touches you, it will rot your entire body, and you'll die. This includes you, Kara."

"Damn," James said, "That sounds scary."

"The Gorgons have the ability to turn you to stone," JJ said, "Unless you have a protective screen over your eyes don't look them directly in the eyes if they become hostile."

"I'm sending you the material you'll need to protect you from the Lord's touch," Orion said, "It's on your BB J'onn along with the design of the protective glasses in case you come across a rogue Gorgon."

"I guess fun time is over," Alex said.

"No," JJ said, "Have your fun without me like you always do."

"You're in Freeland," James said, "Doing your thing. You're always trying to guilt trip us."

"Still," JJ said. "Anyway, I'll keep an eye on things. If something goes down, I'll contact you."

"Okay," J'onn said, "Now, back to dinner. You're welcome to stay, JJ."

"Orion, let's go. I'm not hanging with y'all rats,' JJ snapped, "Besides, I need to be with my fiancee."

"Well, isn't Peppermint having her baby tomorrow?" James asked.

"I think so," he said, "She'll be in the Freeland Regional Medical Center if the baby comes tomorrow."

"Okay," Kara said, "James and I can fly in if you want us to."

"Peppermint will like that," JJ said.

Saturday morning…

It was around seven o'clock in the morning. JJ washed Peppermint's back in the shower and then helped her get dress. He put on his face paint while Vera took her shower. He looked over at his fiancee as she sat on the edge of the bed, and said, "You're not fooling me. I will play a few songs, and then we're off to the emergency room."

"I can make it," she said as she held her stomach.

He looked at her for a moment and then said, "It's just the Freeland Carnival. Shoot! I think we'll put on a better showing on Juneteenth, anyway. Besides, I've already let Mister Pierce know that we're only playing a few songs."

Orion appeared in the corner of the room, and said, "The fringes of Freeland is contaminated with waste, JJ. Before we leave, you have to separate the chemicals out of the soil."

JJ looked over at her for a moment, and asked, "Wouldn't that interfere with the lawsuit against Downing Chemical?"

"You're putting money over life?" Orion said, "You're better than that."

"I didn't say I wasn't going to do it, honey," JJ said.

"Hey! You only got one honey up in here," Peppermint said jokingly.

"What's all the yapping about?" Vera asked as she came out of the bathroom wrapped in a large bath towel. "I love that shower."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

John Stewart and Eli Ga'Narian stood on the very end of a large, emerald football field at Garfield High School. Most of the town attended the Carnival, and it was approximately eight-fifteen in the morning, and JJ's voice echoed throughout the entire town. The park set about a mile from the school, and the fresh popcorn permeated through the wind. It was the first scent that raced through the town, but as they practiced shooting a straight edge laser ray out of his ring, the aroma of the funnel cakes smacked both of the Lanterns in the face.

Eli threw an orb into the air that formed into a dragon for John to fight. It was approximately half the size of the football field, and when it let out a roar, a stream of real fire came out of its mouth. "Please be aware the hologram has the ability to kill you when the safeties are off. We use these orbs to enhance our training." She walked over to John and put him in a Four Balanced Stance. He had the right leg to the front and the left leg was behind him, but slightly a little wider than his left shoulder. "When the dragon breathes fire on you, I want you to put your shield up by making an x-block."

He looked at the monstrous, green demon in front of him, and when it blew its breath on the Lantern, he quickly put up his force shield and didn't feel the heat at all. "See that?" He said as if he actually accomplished something. Suddenly, the dragon smacked the young Lantern, and he flew across the field. Eli caught him in an emerald fist and gracefully sat him back on the ground.

"You will learn quickly that you stay engaged as long as the enemy is capable of attacking you," she snapped, "It's a cruel universe." She pushed several buttons on her wrist communicator that caused the dragon to disappear, and then the orb flew to her. "It's nearly ten o'clock," she said as her Lantern uniform changed from emerald to black. "Change clothes."

John raised his ring hand in the air. He donned a similar black uniform that fit his body perfectly. "How's that?"

"Very good," she said, "Now let's get some of that popcorn."

Carnival…

"Damn! We missed JJ!" John exclaimed.

Jefferson laughed as he stuffed a handful of popcorn in his mouth. "JJ sent me a text that Peppermint started labor pains around six this morning. He wanted to go right to the emergency room, but she talked him into playing. He'll be back for Juneteenth celebration, so I know it's going to be rocking."

"I'll be leaving for Oa in two months," John said with a grimace. "My training is four years long."

"Why so long?" He asked. "I think Hal Jordan once said his training was only a few days on the old documentary called 'The First Lantern.'."

Eli looked over at Jefferson, and asked, "Do you believe in Lucifer, Mister Pierce?"

"You mean an evil entity that makes men do bad things? No," he said, "We control our own paths in life."

She laughed. "On some worlds, Luciferous is referred to as the light that leads the way. He went to worlds, showed them how to live in harmony with their own kind, and launched their space-age once they developed a peaceful nature. Doraxia, Vega Star, Moxia, Brion Noir, and thousands of other worlds have stories about this god. The reason why John must go through so much training is that this god destroys life if they refuse to grow. This is where the Oans and Luciferous differ. We give worlds the opportunity to make mistakes until they get it right. Luciferous destroys life if it chooses to oppress, refuses to grow, and acts deleterious to other life."

"So the Devil is real?" John asked smiling.

"When I came to this planet a month ago, I analyzed the air, the soil, and the water. I believe an agent of Luciferous returned to Earth and set the wheels in motion for humanity's death. It appears there's evidence of four types of phages on this planet for genetic annihilation. Two of the diseases dates back a million years. One dates back about thirty thousand years ago. The last one is only a year old. Surely, you already know about more deaths than births in this world?"

"I read about it," Jefferson Pierce said, "But…"

"Unless humanity changes its course, Luciferous will exterminate the human race," she said, "Supergirl, Superman, and all the metahumans on this planet can't stop this being. The Green Lanterns and Oans have fought him throughout time, and he has brought us to our knees according to the historical data. He's part of the matrix of the Universe, and his only purpose is to eradicate that which stands in the way of progress. He exterminated several species of humans throughout your history, including the Neanderthals. In your Holy Book, it talks of the giants in the Earth. These giants were the Titans. He asked them to leave Earth, and when they didn't, Ptah and Luciferous killed them all."

"This is scary," Jefferson said.

"My entire world is at war," she said, "There were nearly eight hundred billion people on my planet, and now we have five hundred billion. I fear Luciferous will come for my world. But I must be honest, we're not oppressive to our fellow man like I've seen in this world. I've only had one month to study your history, Jefferson," she said, "The crimes against humanity that humanity inflicts on itself are reprehensible. I have to do my job and bring John to Oa, but I think humanity is doomed."

"What makes you say that?" He asked.

"You're an educator? If you don't know, then you're like the blind leading the blind. But when John returns in four years, your world will have experienced a significant amount of deaths, and its women will struggle to reproduce. You'll see visible signs of the human race's demise."

Later in the evening…

John bought two bags of hot, crispy popcorn, a caramel apple, and two large funnel cakes. They sat on the ground and listened to the band play. "I feel bad about the way I talked to Jefferson," Eli said as she ate some of her popcorn. "I've grown weary of this world." She looked over at Sue's booth, and said, "That's the woman who killed Pete Dog. Are there not any laws for killing brown boys in this world?

"If she killed him, I'm sure there's evidence," he said. "They'll find her."

"Since I've been in this world, a day hasn't passed that a chap in this godforsaken place hasn't died of gun violence. Yesterday, I intervened in an altercation where a large man grabbed a woman by her throat, pulled off her wig, and punched her in the face. It took all my willpower not to slice him in half with my ring. I overheard a young chap of sixteen say, 'I don't date black girls because they have an attitude!' How many black girls have a sixteen-year-old kid dated? Shouldn't his schooling be of the utmost importance?"

"We've been in poverty for so long and told that we're animals that we've turned into just that," he said, "Our boys are treated so badly by the justice system and over policed by the cops that they turn on each other. When beaten by the system, all our kids have left to do is have sex. Look at JJ for example? He's sixteen and his fiancee is about to have a baby."

"He appears to come from money," she said with a smile. "I don't think he's like these other kids. He's driving around in a flying car."

"What?" John asked.

"Yeah," she said, "Last night I saw his car flying."

"You're kidding," he said.

"Yep," she said, "In fact, I'm almost sure it's equipped to travel into space. What kind of kid has a flying car on a planet that doesn't have flying cars? He wears makeup to hide his face, so people can't recognize him."

"That's part of his costume," he said. "He's a rocker."

She laughed. "No. No sixteen-year-old kid just has a flying car, John," she said, "He stands like he owns the room. What makes him different than all the other brown boys? He's elated about bringing a new life into the world. He stands with his fiancee. In a world that hates brown babies, why is he so happy?"

"Some kids are just like that," he said, "But how can a sixteen-year-older pay for a baby, a house, and all the other amenities? They'll struggle."

"There's nothing wrong with struggle, John," she said, "It's obvious life isn't easy, and life will never be easy in a land where people like you don't own any industries. If another world wanted to trade with this world, what would your people contribute? When you're on Oa, you'll see people with our hue who own worlds. We're the dominant color of the galaxy. You'll meet beings with the ability to move objects with their minds. You'll meet a telepath or two, but telepaths are a rarity. Neonotiums from Neo Star and the Deceivers, a race that originated on Earth, are the main telepaths. The Neonotiums are of a beautiful emerald hue, but they only breed with other telepaths. Doraxians are a lovely sapphire, and they are a technologically advanced race. When a Doraxian goes against tested doctrine, they're exiled to a prison colony. They have the fastest and strongest ships in the galaxy. There are races that are sexually ambiguous like the Gidisons. They're born with both male and female genitalia. When they are between the ages of twelve and twenty-one, they can choose to become a female. If they aren't impregnated by the age of twenty-one, then their vaginas close up, and they become males. If they're impregnated between the age of twelve and twenty-one, their penises fall off after conception, and they give it to the person that made them female. There's a whole ritual involved in that. There's nothing more admirable to a Gidison male than to obtain the penis of his wife. What makes the Gidisons special is they save other races from extinction. If a Gidison between the ages of twelve and twenty-one has sex with a male from another species, then they become a female in that species. If a Gidison has sex with a god, then she becomes a goddess. There's one race of humanoids that are burnt black with silver hair, and they live for about five hundred years from the Planet Vordia. They're humanoid, but they generate body parts like the salamanders of Earth. "

"This is incredible," he said, "Are there any solar systems that have multiple lifeforms?"

"Indeed. Doraxia has terraforming technology that they've used to terraform about five planets in their solar system. There's another solar system called the Penta Pearl of Planets or the Five Ps that have the following races: Yendorians, Porians, Dorians, Agorians, Pridicans, Nobilans, Sargolians, and Chopicans. The Porians look exactly like America's brown people. The resemblance is uncanny. Some of those races live on the same planet. The Dorians and Yendorians share the planet Doria. I think you can understand why you'll need schooling for the Lantern Corp."

"How prevalent is Democracy in the universe?" He asked.

"A true Democracy is unheard of," she said calmly, "There's normally a body of the best minds who are the governing body on most worlds. Most nations have some kind of Republic system, but you'll find out the perfect government doesn't exist. There are several worlds that have robots as judges."

John and Eli talked for a long time about other worlds. A little biracial kid stood by John eating popcorn. When he looked over his left shoulder, he saw his niece, Jennifer standing behind him. She looked calmly. He gave her a hug, and asked, "How are you doing today?"

Before they had an opportunity to have a good conversation, a younger kid ran up to them. He complained to his brother, Bay, about not being able to contact his Momma. Immediately, Bay and Jennifer left.

Eli yawned, and said, "I'm ready to head back to my ship."

"Yeah," John said, "I'm going to head home, and catch up on some sleep."

"We'll meet up tomorrow," she said, "Early in the morning."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Eli kept her ship invisible so she wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. The ship's radiation sensors indicated the entire area was unlivable. If not for the protection of her vessel, she wouldn't be able to reside in the area. Nothing grew at all. It was like one, gigantic dirt pile for nearly two miles around the area, and from what she could tell, the radioactive waste was everywhere. She had already been in the area for a month and she hadn't seen a single animal stroll by once. Not even the birds flew overhead because of the contamination. She found it hard to believe that the humans would radiate parts of their planet for profit. She was incredulous over the ship's readout, but she knew it was correct.

After reading some of Earth's history, she thought their willingness to do harm to each other was interminable. Before the war on Moxia, the planet lived in peace for nearly ten thousand years. It went through several population booms. She noticed in some of her reading material, the earthlings considered people of different hues a whole other race. At first, she thought this was the case until she analyzed the DNA of several human beings, and quickly discovered everybody on the planet was of one race.

It was around six o'clock in the evening when she heard several police sirens in the area. In addition, she heard the thumping sound of a helicopter overhead. She turned on her communicator and then listened to see what was happening in the city of Freeland. All of the cops sounded frantic on the radio. They screamed that a monster attacked them, and then they said his name.

"This is SGT Vincent," the man said over the radio, "The killer is Bay Nelson. He looks like a normal teenager, but he's meta. He appears to be impervious to bullets. If you come across him, use all your firepower."

Eli sat back in her command chair for a moment and listened to the radio chatter. For a moment, she wondered if she should interfere, but decided against it when she heard one of the on-scene commanders orders: "If its brown put it down. Just assume everybody with brown skin is your enemy. It's the only way to be sure."

She had never heard such an order so incogitant to life in all her existence that it left her befuddled. The cops were in the process of killing people based on a skin color. They took the actions of one kid and then decided all people of that child's hue were their enemy. If the cops thought it was in their best interest to kill brown people, she didn't see a need to help them at all.

When it was about ten o'clock at night, an intrusion alarm went off on her dashboard. When she pushed the red, blinking button, she saw JJ descend to the ground with a palm computer. "He's not human," she said softly. "I knew something was different about him." She watched the kid as he stood tall in the middle of the field, and analyzed the area. She could pick up what he was saying to his robotic friend through the sensors on the ship.

"This contamination goes about fifty feet down," the palm computer said.

"That's pretty deep," JJ said as he placed his hands on the ground. "I can smell it. What's your solution?"

"You can separate the radioactive material from the soil," the robot said, "With your telekinesis."

"I haven't gone through my apotheosis yet," JJ said, "I don't think I'm strong enough to fix this amount of contamination."

"JJ, you're more than strong enough," the robot said, "You're growing stronger every day."

Eli sat back in her command chair and then said to her, "That's Ptah. It has to be."

"Orion, survey the amount of contamination I need to clean up," he said, "Give me a price estimate." She watched the computer fly around the area for nearly two hours while the young kid floated in the air in the supine position. She thought he didn't want to touch the soil if he didn't have to. For a moment, he looked in her direction, and she thought he could see her. When the robot finally returned, it was almost twelve o'clock in the morning.

"Honestly, in today's dollars, we're talking about six hundred million dollars worth of damage," she said, "It's serious."

"Damn," he said, "We're going to get paid." The kid raised his hands in the air, and tons of dirt flew into the atmosphere. Eli could see the radioactive material separating from the dirt at an amazing speed. It was happening so fast that she could barely keep up with what he was doing. He took the radioactive material and shot it into space. He took the rest of the dirt and set it on fire, but she didn't understand how it happened. The entire night sky could be seen from all over the city. The fire didn't last long, and then all of the dirt fell back to the earth in its rightful place.

"Wow," she said softly. "This kid is amazing."

She then watched him fall to his knees and hands but didn't know exactly what was happening. At first, she thought he was just tired until grass started growing all over the empty field. Several trees popped up in the middle of the field, and within minutes, the entire area looked like a forest.

"I'm not detecting any radioactivity," Orion said, "Nothing."

"It was much easier than I thought it would be," JJ said. Suddenly, the young kid turned around and looked directly at her ship one more time.

"Oh, I know he sees me," she said. She then saw JJ face towards the end of the field, and she saw some army troops marching towards him. She wondered if he would just kill them without thinking about it or would he act with some compassion. As the troops approached him, he opened up a hole in the ground, and they all fell into it. He then waved his right hand and sent the troops to the other side of the city.

"Amazing," she said, "He didn't hurt one of them."

She then heard him say, "Nick, quit hiding!"

She saw another man walk from the shadows and then two other beings. Everything happened so fast that she shook her head in disbelief. When another alert happened on her dashboard, she watched JJ look up into the air. At the same time, she saw an alien craft above the planet, and she wasn't familiar with its design at all. As she tapped her fingers on the dashboard, the young kid turned towards her ship and then pointed to her.

"There's a ship right there," he said, "I think it's that Lantern's ship."

It kind of scared her that he could see her ship, even when she was cloaked. He looked at it for a moment and then turned back to the young man called Bay. The kid was only sixteen-years-old, but there was something odd about him. She looked at her viewer and then told her ship's computer to analyze the kid.

"Give me a readout on the one called Bay?" She asked of her vessel's computer.

"Analyzing…" The ship said as several buttons lit up on the panel. "The kid is an Incubi."

Eli traveled into the memory banks of her Lantern ring for any information on the Incubus. The word sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it, and for a human looking kid to kill so many men who had protection and weapons amazed her. He looked no different than any other human kid in Freeland, but she thought the word Incubus sounded familiar.

"We can find another world for you, Bay," JJ said as he reached out to the kid. "I sensed the power flowing through your veins, and there's no place you can go now on this world where you won't be hunted."

"This is my world," he said, "I'm not leaving it." Suddenly, the young teenager took off into the woods, and then he jumped into the air. Eli used the instruments in her ship to detect his path, and he landed about six miles from his location. He then jumped again, and now he was approximately three miles from Metropolis.

When the boy ran away from them and the couple left, JJ stood in the middle of the field for about twenty minutes. She tried to ascertain what he was doing, but couldn't tell. He then faced towards Freeland prime and appeared to be concentrating on something.

"I've calmed most people down, Orion, but I'm not sure how long I can hold their anger," he said, "The town is a powder keg."

"You could've turned the kid into the police," she said, "I mean he did kill a lot of people."

"The boy's an Incubi. I don't know if he knows what he is," he said calmly. "He must have just come of age because his powers are raw."

"That's truly a rare breed of powerful beings," she said, "Do you remember your children?"

"Shut up, Orion," he said with a grimace. "I'm Ptah, but can I claim the Deceivers, Incubus and Succubus as my offspring?"

"I think so," she said, "You've always said the past has a way of coming back. You plucked the Succubus from the Speed Force nearly a million years ago. You raped her for most of her life. You forced her to bear your offspring. She killed herself with your blade."

"I know the story," he said in a brittle voice.

"Story? It's your life," she snapped.

"I thought you were my friend, Orion," he said, "Why are you beating me up over this?"

"I will always be your friend, but I'm also your conscience. You let that boy run away," she said, "This is your mess to clean up."

Eli watched the flying, Doraxian palm computer berate the young god, and she could tell they were the best of friends because only friends could get away with the way she beat him up over his inaction. "He's sixteen. I will give him as much time as he needs to find himself before I intervene. Eli, I'm here for you. Allow me to come into your ship?"

"How do you know my name?" She asked on the loudspeaker.

"Because I'm reading your mind," he said calmly. "You've been watching me and I've been reading you." The door of her ship opened, and then the young kid flew into the vessel with Orion in front of him. "Did Ganthet send you to spy on me?"

"No," she said with a grimace. "He told me to come for John Stewart."

He laughed for a moment and then waved his hand in front of her face. She didn't have a clue what he was doing. She just thought it was strange. "You're obviously too green to be here.."

"Green?" She asked. "I've wielded this ring for five years."

"What ring?" He asked.

She looked down at her hand, and then said, "Give it back, you dirty rat." When he took her ring, she felt completely helpless against the kid. With his makeup on his face, he looked sinister to her.

"What are you willing to do for me?" He asked with a smile on his face.

She didn't quite understand what he wanted. "You're such an urchin," she said with a grimace. "Do you want sex or something?"

"No," he said calmly. When she held out her right hand, he slid the ring back on her finger. "I sense a hint of telekinetic powers in you."

She laughed. "Oh, bull. My species doesn't have that ability. Only a few races throughout the entire universe have that ability."

"Have you explored it?" He asked as he pointed to her, and then she floated over to him. Suddenly, she felt him rattling around in her head, and then she felt some pain in her frontal lobe. "Hold on a second." He then pushed her across the ship with his powers, took her ring in the process, and held it out in the palm of his hand. "I want you to concentrate on the ring."

"This isn't going to work," she said with a grimace.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked calmly.

"Ptah," she said.

"Then if you believe I'm Ptah, follow my directions," he said, "Think of the ring and take it from my hand."

She stood on the other side of the ship and tried to focus on the shiny green object. For over two minutes she concentrated on the ring, and then it fell to the floor. "You did that."

"Oh bull," she said, "You dropped it."

He flew over to her, stood behind her, and then said, "Pick it off the floor with your mind."

"I can't," she said, "It's not within my species to move things with my mind."

"Are all Moxians as weak as you?" He asked. "No wonder you can't outthink the Deceivers," he said, "They're holding your world hostage. You're so damn weak that you can't do anything about it.."

"You're such a rude god," she said with a grimace. "I was warned of your shenanigans."

"I'm going to kill you, Eli," he said as he walked over to her ring. When he turned around, he put her in a chokehold. He picked her off the ground with the power of his mind. She couldn't move at all, and she truly thought she was going to die. "You either pick that ring up with your mind or die. It's really your choice."

Orion appeared in front of JJ, and asked, "Are you trying to kill her?"

"If she doesn't pick up the ring, she'll die," he said. At first, she thought he was kidding, but when she felt his telekinetic grip around her throat, she couldn't breathe or think. She kept hearing him scream, "I'll kill you, Lantern if you don't pick up the ring." She tried to scream, but she couldn't say anything. Right, when she was about to pass out, the ring flew on her right index finger, and then a graphical fist smacked JJ in back of the head.

"That's what your ass get," Orion said, "Why are you being so cruel?"

"I told you she could do it," he said, "But if I didn't push her, she'd just be standing around looking stupid."

"Yeah, but you didn't say you were going to choke her," she said, "That's not funny, JJ."

"You did that," Eli said.

"It was you," he said calmly.

"Due to the amount of time you've been wearing the ring, it gives you some telekinetic abilities. When JJ went into your head, he turned on your skills."

The young kid sat in her command chair, and then she asked, "Why are you concerned with my abilities?"

"I know all about your plans to train John Stewart, Eli Ga'Narian, "At the end of the day, the Destroyer will come. It's the way of things. The Oans, Luciferous, and I are all brothers," he said calmly. "If humanity doesn't learn from its mistakes, she will perish. It's the way of things. But let's be honest, I'm here to train you, and the young girl who just whacked her head on your ship."

"What?" She said.

"Yeah," he said, "Jennifer Pierce is passed out on the ground at the rear of your vessel."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

February 17, 2019…

She went to sleep about four o'clock in the morning after she met a Golden Knight from the future. When she finally got up out of bed, it was around twelve noon, and she craved a corn dog. Her neck felt somewhat sore from where JJ choked her into moving objects with her mind, but she still thought he tricked her. When she reached for a candy bar on the counter of her ship, it didn't move at all.

"I knew it," she said, "That little demon tricked me!" Quickly she hopped off her cot and tried to run to the bathroom, but she whacked her little toe on the corner of her command chair. "Dammit!" Suddenly, the candy bar flew across the ship without any effort at all. She hopped around the cabin of the ship for a moment, and then said, "JJ, you there? Quit playing." She looked around the cabin for a moment, and then pointed at the candy bar again, and then it flew into her right hand.

When she walked out of her ship, onto the fresh grass, and stretched her arms, she felt her back pop. Every muscle in her body hurt from training with the young teen. It was a warm day in February, and she thought the cops running up and down the street were simply exercising. It was a strange sight to see because they were panting, screaming, and crying that they couldn't stop running. She thought, _why don't they just stop_?

When she returned from Bang Bang Burger's, she had a corndog in her right hand. She splashed some mustard on it while she stood watching the cops as they continued to race up and down the street. She thought it was some strange ritual they put themselves through for failing to capture the suspect. She took a bite of her food and loved the taste. Corndogs were her favorite food on Earth. Suddenly, she saw something reflecting in the sun, but didn't know what it was. She tried to get a good look at the object, but it interfered with her vision. Peppermint flew into the air and hit her with some sticky goo that plastered her to the ship. Her corndog fell on the ground, and that hurt her more than the sticky goo. It happened so fast that she didn't have a chance to prepare. "What are you doing?" Eli screamed.

"Your training session has started, girlie," she said. Her full length, black bodysuit fit her well, and it was almost impossible to tell she had given birth a day earlier. It wasn't even a full twenty-four hours, and she was using her special powers. "Use your ring to remove the goo." When the light came out of her ring, the sticky stuff dissolved from around her body.

"Didn't you just give birth?' Eli asked.

"Yeah," she said, "But JJ healed me with his tech. Now, it's party time."

"Probably because he wanted sex," she whispered. "Just like a man."

"Yeah! That's JJ," she said, "Now, let's do this." Peppermint pointed at a group of rocks, and they began to twirl around and around. "Eli, I'm going to start off slowly. Try to use your telekinesis to block the rocks."

"All those rocks?" She asked. Some of the rocks were bigger than the others, and it made her nervous. She didn't have an ounce of faith in her abilities.

"I'll lob them at you one at a time," she said. "You must crawl before you can walk. Go ahead and pocket your ring."

"Pocket my ring?" She asked.

"Yeah. JJ wants you to believe in your mind first and ring second," she said, "The stronger your mind the more powerful you are with your ring."

Eli sighed, and then took off her ring, placed it in her uniform pocket, and then took a fighting stance. Her heart raced because of the young girl in front of her was another powerful god like her fiance, and she looked mean. She was a tad nervous without the protection of her ring, but she had to try her best to use her telekinesis. She knew JJ was right about developing the skill, but she didn't imagine she had the capabilities. The Moxians with empathic and telepathic abilities were usually treated less than stellar, and when it came to telekinesis, it was unheard of in any known regions of the planet. Moxia was so big that it was a hundred thousand times bigger than the Earth.

When Peppermint lobbed a rock at her, she had to move out of its way because it nearly hit her. It was like she didn't have the ability to deflect the rock at all. After the failure to deflect the third rock, the young goddess sighed, and then said, "Lantern, are you even trying?"

"Yes," she said, "Everything feels awkward."

"It's all fun and games until JJ shows up," she said, "He won't go easy on you, Eli." She twirled around another cluster of rocks with her mind, and then said, "You do understand that today you're a Green Lantern, but tomorrow you'll be a Yellow Lantern?"

"It's what I heard," she said with a grimace. "I don't want that."

"Perhaps we know too much about the future," she said with a grimace. "But according to Orion, you will be a great Yellow Lantern. Now, prepare!"

Hands up, fighting stance, and ready to block the rocks, Peppermint flung a rock at Eli, and it hit her in the forehead, and she passed out on the ground. When she woke up, JJ was kneeling beside her.

"Oh my gawd," she screamed. "You guys are trying to kill me."

All of a sudden, her body flew across the field, and then up into the clouds, and she screamed the whole time. He then released his telekinetic grip on her, and she tumbled haphazardly to the ground. "Use your powers, Eli," he said, "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't believe in you." As she twirled to the ground, she put a telekinetic shield around her body. It was like a bouncy spring that kept her from smashing into the ground. When she started to feel relaxed as she hovered above the ground, JJ sent her back up into the air, and she screamed as loud as possible. When he released her, she stayed above the clouds.

She floated about the clouds, and thought, _I'm just going to stay here until the assholes leave_. All of a sudden, JJ snatched her out of the clouds, and before she had a chance to say anything, she was standing in front of him.

"You're killing me," she said.

JJ picked up some rocks from all over the area, and it looked like a gigantic wall of rocks. She could hear them rattling around. "You remember that force-shield you put around your body so you wouldn't crash into the ground? It's kind of like that." The rocks came racing at her, and she put up her hands, and they all bounced off her field. She felt so good about blocking all the rocks that she let her shield down, and then she felt a telekinetic slap across the face. She flipped over on her back.

"Why did you do that?" She screamed.

"You don't drop your guard while the threat still exists," he screamed. "That's basic shit."

"Who trained this slacker?" Peppermint asked.

"Obviously some scrub," JJ said as Eli lay on her back.

She hopped to her feet, and said, "Take it back, Ptah."

"No. The person that trained you should be beaten with a stick," he said.

"Arrrrrgh," she screamed. With the power of her mind, she picked up several rocks and threw them at JJ as hard and fast as possible, and they just ricocheted off his shield. He then did a backflip and lobbed several rocks back at her, and she deflected them.

"Get her, Peppermint," he said.

His fiancee took flight and threw a glob of her goo at the Lantern, and she deflected it out of the way. JJ somersaulted into her and kicked her with extremely weak kicks so he wouldn't hurt her. She fought him in hand to hand combat, and then he threw dirt in her face with his telekinesis.

"Use your environment, Eli," Peppermint said, "You got this."

Eli eventually hit JJ in the back of the head with a rock, and then kicked him in the gut. He fell to the ground laughing about it, and said, "Finally, she's doing what I knew she could do."

"We've been out here for four hours," she said, "Are you trying to kill me?"

"No," he said, "But you're extremely important to the future," he said. "We'll be training hard for the next two weeks because you're just that important to the future."

"What about my student?" She asked.

"I'm well aware that you need to prep John," he said. "Work with John tomorrow, and then you're mine on Tuesday." He paused for a second, and then said, "You might feel a little uneasy tonight. It'll pass."

"Why's that?" She asked.

"You've put a lot of stress on your brain," he said, "But we have to work on some other important techniques."

"Like what?" She asked.

"Mind blocking techniques," he said. "Now, call your ring. I want to see it."

She held out her hand, and the ring flew out of her pocket. It slid on her right index finger. JJ clapped.

"She's developing fast," Peppermint said.

"Orion," JJ screamed. The robot flew from the area where the cops were running down the street.

"JJ, did you ever undo the deception you put in the cops' heads. Some of them are now crawling up and down the street. They're all bloody."

"Dammit! I forgot," he said with a grimace. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Eli watched all the cops stop in their tracks, and crawl over to the large field.

"Orion, call emergency services," JJ said, "Tell them nearly thirty cops are in distress."


End file.
